- REM Island
REM Island was a platform built in the
Republic of Ireland and towed to a position off the Dutch coastline in 1964 to serve as the pirate broadcasting home of "Radio and TV Noordzee". Both of the stations were later dismantled by the armed forces of the Netherlands. It was located six miles off the coast near Noordwijk in the Netherlands.Construction and foundation
Radio and TV Noordzee was founded in 1963 with land-based offices and broadcasted from the sea. The artificial island was built in the harbor of
Cork, Ireland . It was towed to its location and anchored in cement on the seabed. On August 12, 1964 a test broadcast was performed and on August 15 regular broadcasting started.REM stands for "Reclame Exploitatie Maatschappij" ("advertising exploitation company"). The company intended to perform commercial radio and TV broadcasting. The Dutch law did not authorize such broadcasts, but the artificial island was positioned just outside the territorial waters, six miles off the coast. Other pirate stations typically used a ship, such as
Radio Veronica .Raid
Dutch authorities were unhappy with the unexpected competition from the sea, but they could not prevent the broadcasts starting. Radio Noordzee was outside territorial waters, and out of reach of Dutch law. On December 12, 1964, four months after it started, the Dutch government passed a new emergency law. The so-called REM law split the North Sea into continental sections. The sea bed under REM Island, to which the structure was physically attached, was declared Dutch territory. Five days later, Royal Marines boarded the platform and ended broadcasting.
Later use and dismantling
A year after the raid, Radio Noordzee resumed transmissions legally as a public broadcaster under the name TROS. After being used as a pirate broadcasting platform, REM Island was used by the Dutch government as a measuring outpost. It measured sea temperature and water salt concentration. After a failed attempt to sell the artificial island in 2004, the Dutch government dismantled the construction with a goodbye amateur radio event on the platform on June 8, 2006.
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